Olfactory Opinions from Oz

SOTD 19 – 25 March 2018

A SOTD (Scent Of The Day) thread is a really good conversation generator. The idea is you’ll chime in through the week with whatever scent you are wearing. You don’t need to be super knowledgable, have high faluting tastes or be a published author to comment. Just tell us what fragrance you’re wearing, smelling, buying etc.

You can also comment on everyone else choices too. It’s great to tell someone how much you love their choice, ask for more info about it, the house or perfumer. There’s someone here from around the world 24/7 and perfume people love to chat.

SOTD 19 – 25 March 2018

You probably won’t have time to write every scent, every spritz but whenever you feel the mood take you share your current spritz and a few things about it. Maybe you love/loathe it, want it, are excited by the notes/bottle/SA who sold it: WHATEVER! As always here at APJ, taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Today is a second wearing from a Travel size Iris Rebelle. I think it’s light enough for office wear. I can honestly say now that I’m not a die-hard Iris lover. I’ve tried several in the last month and other notes just do more for me. This is pleasant but when it goes, it goes, and then back to my deep dark stuff.

Phew, I am not alone! I feel frightfully unsophisticated in my lack of iris-love. It seems one of the most elegant and grown up of notes, but, I just don’t feel the love for it when it’s the main or only event.

I need to get out of this funk I am in because of this ridiculously cold weather (22 degrees Fahrenheit…come on Mother Nature…tomorrow is the first day of Spring!!!!) so I am wearing liquid sunshine today in Orange Sanguine. For the past two days I have been craving citrus 🙂

The voiles are an absolute *revelation* for me. After an early off-putting encounter with an overdose of one of the edps, I avoided vero’s work for ages and ages…but these? These are bloody marvels from start to the last wisps of drydown. (and yes, I will be retrying the EDPs, too, courtesy of a super-generous pal of yours..)

SOTD is LAP Traversée du Bosphore. The only gourmand I have and the only one I love. I like that it’s powdered sugar kind of sweet, not that ethylmaltol caramel kind of cloying sweetness.
Today I’m wearing a shirt which I worn a couple of weeks ago and which has gone through laundry and been sitting in my wardrobe for several weeks. Imagine my surprise when I can still smell, very clearly, a pretty oud-y note on the collar. Can’t remember what that perfume was, but I’m guessing Oud Palao from Diptyque.

Alahine today. It’s warming up finally so may spritz something more spring-like later. Had 3 classes today with parents invited to observe, so I’m beat… trying to keep preschoolers focused when they have an audience is hard! 4 more over the next three days and then we have spring break, not a moment too soon!

TF Orchid Soleil for a cold but sunny day here. Doing my best Bet Lynch impression in a leopard print dress. Lounging around all day as it’s a public holiday and frankly haven’t got the energy to do much else. Back to work tomorrow for a rest😄

Hi Saffy, longevity on this one is impressive, several hours on me and I normally burn them off quickly. Have you smelled Guerlain Terracotta or Bronze Goddess? Because if those two had a baby it would probably smell something like O S. It is a creamy white floral and uncomplicated. And of course I had my red lippie on today, as I do on maybe 5 days of the week. I always say it hides a multitude of sins 😉

I’ve finally tried Mugler’s Womanity from a sample. I don’t get the fig at all…and I’m always looking for the perfect fig perfume. Philosykos is still the only one that comes close to the fig as I know it. Womanity smells rather synthetic fruity. After a few hours the saltiness pops up a bit. Longevity is very good so I could smell it the whole day.

No, I’m in Europe but I’ve checked their website and I think Mediterranean Fig would be worth a blind buy. My daughter is visiting the States this summer so she’ll get a list of perfumes to buy for me 😉 thanks a lot for the recommendation.

When I finish my little bottle of Fig Tree (SSS) I’m going to try L’artisan’s Premier Figuier Extreme (probably spelled that wrong). You could try out Holland & Barret to see if they ship to Croatia, I know they carry the Pacifica line. No harm having a peek.

It is interesting the way we experience smells. Now that I have your description in mind and smell Womanity again, I can really smell the strange saltiness. The figs around here smell differently though.

I wore la nuit homme 2016 version. It does seem different from original version, almost like edp with very low sillage but quite a longevity though it does disappoint hardcore lovers of la nuit homme. 2016 version is the la nuit that seems suited to intimate settings because it barely has any projection.

Hello all…I have replied to a few comments on Portia’s other post of last week’s scents to a few of you.
Suffice to say, that whilst some of you bemoan {with valid reason ,too} the longevity of your Winter, in Ballarat, Autumn has most certainly arrived. Yesterday, Monday I wore Prends Guarde a Toi by Egofacto…. a sample from Cassieflower….Sadly it didn’t work for me, and after 4 hours it simply became ‘annoying’, so I had a second shower for the day lol. After this I applied Prada Femme L’eau because I just love it lol…In fact, I have only owned this bottle of Prada Femme 4 weeks ,and already thinking I will need to repurchase.
Tuesday morning is very crisp, and I’m feeling lazy and headachy, so I’ve applied some Montale Oriental Sweet Dream, from a little sample….this is beautiful and ‘soft’ . Now I’m thinking I need a 10ml or so in a spray vial to see if it worth the spend on a bottle. off to the decant sites….

You’re not having a good hit rate so far with sampling. But it sure is fun trying. It’s probably about 1.30am here and I’m wide awake as hubby woke me up with his humming as he was coming to bed🙄 He’s now sleeping like a baby. Today I’m going to wear Mohur. Have put it in a spray bottle as I need to spray to get full effect. First world problems.

Neva, I don’t get patchouli bomb but an Arabian Carpet of colourful scents all playing at full strength. Hardly anything stands out particularly, it is Ubar and only Ubar to me. If I was to name it I’d say animalic yellow floral.
Portia xx

OMG perfumed peeps! Have any if you tried Fort & Manle’s Mr B’s Purple Hat? I nearly laughed out loud at it as it flipped personalities. It started out with ambery apricots, chocolate, vanilla and then lavender appears and builds to a medicinal pitch (Is this the oud? Haven’t done much oud). Then it flips and it is all swept away leaving plush apricot jam, cloves, & spicy woods. I am hooked! Love it! I want to do it all again LOL.

Same to you with bells on, CM, and show be damned! It’s cold here still but there’s not a cloud in the sky this morning. Please, weather gods, please just let it warm up a bit, my winter coats are starting to protest, they’re looking for overtime payment. Those Berdoues sound amazing, and just what you need to cheer yourself up.

How ‘vintage’ is your Diorissimo? My sister used to wear the late 70s /early 80s version….the packaging had the black and white hounds-tooth print and really was ‘her’. I’ve smelt the ‘modern’ version and it is ‘flat’ to my nose.
I bet you smell divine, crikey.

Mid 1970s I think, a full teeny-weeny 10ml EDT in the houndstooth (as part of a set with three others–tip ebay score!). It’s still lovely, but it feels like its last gasp before collapsing of exhaustion. There’s something fragile about what’s left.

The new one is just so disappointing (as much or even more so than the modern Diorling.

Today it is another from my forgotten stash of rollerballs–Atelier Pomelo Paradis. Atelier has a common theme in their fragrances. Not to say they all smell the same to me, but certainly they are recognizable as an Atelier product.

Angel edp last night and today. One of the few I’ll never be without. I remember smelling it for the first time, from a professor at university, oh boy, did I fall in love with it right that second!. It took me almost fifteen years to get my own bottle. And then another one 🙂

OMG!!!!! MAFS last night!!! {for the uninitiated, Married at First Sight}. We had 2 new couples emerge, who were not paired up by the ‘experts’ for the experiment!!
Autumn….my fave season..yippeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Wearing the sample of SSS Violette which Cassieflower sent to me.

Le Parfum de Thérèse this evening. I wanted JASMINE and nothing else would do…my debit card is quietly sobbing in the privacy of my purse because it knows that the decant is getting low and sooner or later I will want a bottle of my own…

I’d prefer that but for some reason the 10mls are not always available here in Australia – they seem only to stock them for some of the Malle lines like Carnal Flower & Portrait of a Lady 😦 And shipping is the killer. 10ml with shipping fron the US or UK is a little under 1/2 the price of a 50ml which…hurts… So my card would would weep less but would still sob pretty hard at that markup/ml.

5-6 inches of snow and still coming down. School cancelled (of course after I had already showered and dressed) so catching up on things and going to do some sampling. Started out in Ambre 114 when I thought I was going to work, so as soon as that wears off I’ll dig into the vials and see what comes up!

This morning tested Ambra del Nepal…now wearing Perfect Nectar on one wrist and Blue Cypress on the other..it has an Eau d”Hadrien/eau de Sud vibe but much better….I can clearly see why Goldfield & Banks gets a lot of love…fantastic Australian house…and the lasting power is amazing….tomorrow I will explore more goodies 🙂

SOTD – Gucci Rush for a meeting and a business lunch.
SOTE – Cartier La Panthere EdP for a concert. I managed to finish my bottle and I’m so proud because it happens as seldom as a total eclipse of the sun.

Off to work this morning for ‘fire/ emergency’ education. then home for a couple hours for lunch.. then back to the facility for my shift. I needed something to get me through the entire day. Midnight in Paris EDP fits the bill nicely.

While working from home, tested four different Jo Malone perfumes: three from the current limited edition collection and one from the previous one. I could probably wear any of them but I’m not sure I’d recognize them by smelling – and I try not to get such perfumes in my collection.
In the evening decided to wear something and put on TF Vert de Fleur. I really like galbanum in it. So, it’s a good candidate for the discontinuation :).

Jo Malone Vetyvr…love it….I don’t have many vetivers in my collection and this one is extraordinarily enjoyable. I am realizing that we are quite a fan of this house as there are full bottles , travel bottles and samples all over the house …out of the four fragrance wearers chez Marzipan this house is probably the most represented.

Delayed at Charles de Gaulle (national strike going on) so pottering about sniffing things. New Hermes cardamusc? Nice enough but absolutely not £275 for 20ml nice. Quiet and warm and very true to itself, but nope. It’s down to barely a whisper in under an hour. Also other new ones: never thought I’d meet a myrrh that smells pale pink.

I’m not a natural hermesence wearer–too damn subtle for me. But I did leave the house (at 430 am!) in Osmanthe Yunnan so, quiet happens sometimes.

I hope you’ll get to where you’re going safely (though not timely).
If you were to ask me a couple of days ago, I’d have said that I wasn’t a huge Hermes fan. But yesterday, while answering a question about favorites from this brand (in comments on another blog), I counted at least 5 perfumes that I like enough to wear from time to time – which is much more than I can say for many other brands.

Home from a busy ,tiring shift. Into a hot hot shower to ease the joint pains, a glass of red wine and some paracetamol. Ate dinner made by hubby an ,watched some ‘drivel’ on TV. I have applied Cherugi to go to sleep with.

SSS Champagne de Bois, beautiful creation of Laurie’s. And I just picked up some Nuit de Tubereuse body lotion and that’s radiating from my left arm, it is a very true to the perfume lotion. Impressed indeed. I’ll be leaving a trail at work later on, and I don’t care!

Saffy- I think it was a limited edition…to my nose it is dark and thick (very different from Escada’s Cherries in the Air which is lighter with a marshmallow vibe)….a bit like cherry cough syrup to my wonky nose….I think it makes a great cold weather scent…..

I don’t know how it’s possible but I’ve never tried Vetyvr. I wonder, how long ago has it been discontinued?
Ginger Ciao grew on me over several tries. It is very good in hot weather (not that I was trying to talk you into the FB 🙂 ).

I think they discontinued it several years ago..around the time they d/c Vanilla & Anise (which was another good one) and now Fig & Cassis, Ginger & Nutmeg and Jasmine & Mint are also gone 😦

Will you be reviewing the new Jo Malone Limited Editions that you samples on your SSS Post on your blog?

I did like Ginger Ciao and will definitely revisit it when the weather gets warmer (which is NOT happening in the Northeast at the moment 😦 ) However, I think my decant is enough to hold me over for now.

I was wrong..the Jasmine & Mint is still there..it is the Agava & Cacao that was discontinued….I have a funny feeling that French Lime Blossom might be next as well as 154 because I noticed that whenever they stop selling the candles and the body products the fragrances become discontinued…they do have a phone number, however, that you can call and someone will search to find you the discontinued item (and you are allowed to purchase up to 6)

You scared me about French Lime Blossom 😦 It is one of my absolute favorite perfumes, I need to get a back-up bottle of it.
I’m not sure about the limited editions… I might do a post – but I’m afraid that they’ll be gone really quickly.

Good morning all…,well it’s my morning lol. Slept in until 9amish…and I’m now sitting at my computer ,engulfed by little plastic baggies of perfume samples.
I have samples from Luckyscent…the Penhaligon’s ‘royal family’
I have some from Portia….the APJ prize, some from our lovely Cassieflower, from Ireland. As well there is the gorgeous little bags of the orig scents made by Fort et Manle, and Criminal Elements.
Suffice to say, I need to do some testing ,lol
In the meantime I’m heading in to my drawers to seek out a full bottle, because it is best to wear a proven scent to work.

Looking forward to your comment on the Penhaligon’s “royal family”. I’ve tried The Duke and Duchess Rose recently, both roses, and The Duke is amazing. Such a lovely spicy rose that turns a bit alcoholic with a loooooong beautiful drydown.

Yeah, at Twisted Lily and OSSWALDS in NYC. We did a couple of videos for his blog. He’s so sweet and really perfume passionate.
Jin and I tried to get him to come to Korean BarBQ that night but he was having none of it.
Portia xx

Saturday here and I’m sitting up in bed drinking more coffee and catching up up on blogs. I’m testing L’eau d’Hiver this morning which was my 7 year old’s pick from the handful of samples I was sniffing the lids of. He asked for some on his arm, took a big sniff, and announced it smelled of ‘boiled carrots’. How glamourous do I smell today LOL. On the plus side he definitely found the Iris…

G’day all. I’ve just run around my backyard like an excited child. IT IS RAINING. And I mean PROPER HEAVY GET TO THE ROOTS KIND OF RAINING….Something Ballarat hasn’t experienced in nearly 2 months.
I’ve taken A/L today, so I’ll be testing a few of those samples I mentioned yesterday….oh , and putting a colour through my hair….yes the glam life lol.
I will report throughout the day.
btw, Cassieflower, another incoming email.

Changed into Le Jardin sur le Nil this afternoon and felt all nostalgic. This is the frag that sent me tumbling down the scented rabbit-hole because I’d never smelt anything like it. Green mango and pond water with lilies? Beautiful pond water? I was obsessed by it and Googled it…and found perfume blogs… you all know how that goes LOL 😉

I really really like it….nothing groundbreaking but very light and pleasant …it’s a go to fragrance that you don’t have to “think” about wearing, if that makes any sense? And it is very spring like with the hyacinth and lilac so it puts me in a spring mood ! I think I will be reaching for it a lot in the next few weeks.

Back… I’m still in Chasing Butterflies. I’ve just returned home from the Green Space Launch….lots of folks came out for it.
For Mrs marzipan ,yesterday I tested Ombre de Hyacinth….quite pleasant, and Roaring Radcliff….very unpleasant.
I’m heading to my caravan at Queenscliff to spend a couple of peaceful days by the beach. I’m going to take my little bag of Forte et Manle samples.

and Olympic Orchards Amber on the tops of my feet for yoga this morning…my lord, this is good stuff!!! Reminds me of Eden Botanicals Amber Essence and Fir Balsam combined…this is my very first testing of anything from the house of Olympic Orchards…

and Portia, something is happening again with the blog for I had to come in via Birgit’s blog and when I tried to leave a comment on Scent Diary I had a full page of Japanese lettering (or I think it was Japanese?)

I was wearing Ostara, generous amounts of it, on Palm Sunday.Had some problems logging in here on Sunday evening.Now it is actually Monday, I cannot sleep even if it is passt 3 in the night. Contemplating what scent to wear to bed,there’s still a hint of Ostara’s drydown left, so maybe I’ll go with orange blossom rather than amber.